CNN hammered for hiring ‘right-wing hack’ who pledged loyalty to Trump as political editor for 2020 campaign

CNN is getting crushed online after Politico reported Tuesday that it has hired longtime Republican operative Sarah Isgur Flores to be a political editor who will “coordinate political coverage for the 2020 campaign.”

Flores had previously served as a spokeswoman at the Department of Justice under former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and the Washington Post reported last year that she had to pledge her loyalty to the president and his agenda as a precondition for getting the job.

“Trump’s advisers knew there was only one way Sessions would be able to hire her: If she kowtowed to Trump,” the Post reported. “So she paid her respects to the president in the Oval Office — a cordial visit during which she told the president she was on board with his agenda and would be honored to serve him.”

Flores, who in the past has worked for Republicans ranging from Trump to Sessions to Mitt Romney to Ted Cruz, also has no experience working in journalism.

CNN’s decision to hire Flores for such a senior position drew swift condemnation from liberals and Democrats on Twitter — check out some of the top reactions below.

conservatives would rightly complain if "the liberal Sarah Isgur Flores" became CNN's political director

Among the refined journalistic skills CNN considers Sarah Isgur Flores to be in possession of: defending a bold-faced lie with a link to a one-video YouTube propaganda page that doesn't even come close to proving the original lie to be true https://t.co/g5WSL86wofpic.twitter.com/NG2fmS4VmC

You are making a mockery of your own journalistic credibility, @CNN. If Flores is your political editor, it virtually guarantees your network will carry water for Trump's re-election. https://t.co/oe4uCji92l

This is absolutely insane @CNNPolitics. Why on earth would you hire a right-wing hack to oversee political coverage in 2020? You just gave every Democrat in the country a reason to doubt your objectivity. https://t.co/bjRKPqAIm6

But back to Sarah Isgur Flores and CNN for a second: Remember that she *pledged loyalty to Trump* in order to get her last job. But hey, sure, have her coordinate your 2020 coverage, CNN. Sure that'll be fair and not full of empty podiums/free Trump ads. https://t.co/c8mhZzVpSZ